L-A-D Foundation News

A longtime stalwart of the Missouri Department of Conservation has been selected to lead the L-A-D Foundation, taking over from Roger Still, who retired April 28 from more than a quarter century of full-time conservation work in order to devote more time to his family. He has promised to help orient the new executive director, and is particularly delighted that the board has selected Jennifer Battson Warren for that role, having worked closely with her on many joint efforts.

The L-A-D Foundation was established by Leo A. Drey of St. Louis to protect outstanding natural and cultural areas. In 2004 Drey and his wife Kay donated to the foundation their 144,000-acre Pioneer Forest, the state’s largest private landholding, which spans seven counties in the southeastern Missouri Ozarks. Headquartered in Salem, this property is a working forest, demonstrating exemplary ecological stewardship and conservative forest management using single-tree selection harvests.

After major leadership roles with The Nature Conservancy and then the National Audubon Society Missouri offices, Roger was promoted to lead Audubon’s 18-state Mississippi Flyway initiative in the 2000s, then turned to private consulting with conservation organizations and family foundations in the 2010s. He first became actively engaged with L-A-D in 2019 when he facilitated a highly productive strategic planning retreat for board and staff, then joined the board soon thereafter, and subsequently joined the staff. He made vital contributions to advancing L-A-D’s mission and priority initiatives, and deeply appreciated following in the footsteps of our founder, Leo Drey,

“Sad as all of us—board, staff, advisors, and our many partners—have been to see Roger retire, we know that he cares deeply about our organization, that he has left us in a strong position to carry forward the many projects he initiated, and that he will help in any way he can in the future. We know also that Jennifer Battson Warren, with whom Roger worked in many capacities over the years, is superbly qualified for her new role, and we can’t wait to start working with her,” said Susan Flader, president of the foundation.

Jennifer is a native Missourian, raised in rural Osage County. Her passion for natural resources, land management, and the outdoors began there on grandparents’ farms. She began her college studies in business school, then gravitated to the MU School of Natural Resources, where she earned a degree in forestry and first learned about Pioneer Forest and the L-A-D Foundation. In her 31-year career with MDC, she has had field experience and risen to leadership positions in virtually every aspect of MDC’s work, including forestry, geographic information systems, information technology, private lands conservation, wildlife management, planning, and agency administration. She currently serves as MDC’s Deputy Director for Business and Operations, where she collaboratively guides the “business of conservation” by providing oversight for human resources, infrastructure, IT, budget, financial services, grants, and all aspects of realty.

Jennifer became excited about the L-A-D executive director opening when she read the position description and realized her experience aligned almost perfectly with the duties and responsibilities of the role. “Through every decade of my career,” she says, “I have wondered at and deeply respected the determination and vision of Leo and Kay Drey, the L-A-D Board, and the Pioneer Forest management staff.” She looks forward to October 2 when she will begin her “precious opportunity to share my skills, knowledge, abilities, and passion for forest and natural community management and organizational excellence with a team who share the same passions.”